How Mark Boal found himself in a producer's role in 'Zero Dark Thirty'

"Zero Dark Thirty" screenwriter Mark Boal has kept himself mighty busy since the death of Osama bin Ladenin May 2011. First he put in 80-hour weeks to research the events that led to the terrorist's killing. Then Boal wrote the fact-based script. For the final stretch, the former reporter went to work as a producer on "Zero Dark Thirty," alongside director Kathryn Bigelow.

"Producing is a whole separate set of responsibilities," Boal says. "It's a way of giving Kathryn the creative and financial tools she needs to make the movie the way she wants to make it. Backing her up in this way is, in a sense, self-interested, because when she can do the best job that she's able to do, it only makes my script look better."

Production duties for Boal, whose script has been nominated for an Oscar and a Writers Guild of America award, included helicopter wrangling for the movie's climactic attack sequences.

"I was able to make an arrangement with the Jordanian special forces," he says. "They have a helicopter unit with very good pilots, so we worked with those guys and did a lot of the aerial photography in Jordan."

The aerial sequences, some of which were also filmed in Colorado, combined computer-generated visual effects from Image Engine of Vancouver, British Columbia, with physical action.

"From a producing standpoint, that was a fairly complicated juggling act," Boal says. "The hardest part was building these Stealth helicopter replicas in the U.K. and getting them into Jordan. They were too big for cargo planes, so we had to ship them by boat. Customs officials were not amused when they saw these crated helicopters coming in. We told them it was for a movie, but they were very skeptical."

Boal, who also wrote Bigelow's Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker," made sure the production details were grounded in information he dug up during the fact-checking phase of the film. "That's important to me," he says, "I believe when you're telling a story, it is possible to be factual and informative and dramatic and interesting."

Herzog's quirky work in 'Happy People'

Werner Herzog leaves conventional civilization in the dust with his new film "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga." In an unusual collaboration, co-director Herzog did not shoot the documentary himself but relied on footage filmed by Dmitry Vasyukov. The Russian filmmaker traveled to a remote region of Siberia and chronicled the life of 300 villagers and their dogs.

Hunting and fishing near the Yenisei River, they live without telephones, running water or medical aid. Herzog condensed four hours of Vasyukov's material into a 94-minute release, adding music and his own commentary.

'Buzkashi Boys' star may go to Oscar ceremony

Producer Ariel Nasrand director Sam French traveled to Afghanistan to make their Oscar-nominated live-action short film "Buzkashi Boys."

Now the filmmakers want to bring the movie's young star, Fawad Mohammadi, to Hollywood for the Academy Awards.

"Without the talent of Fawad and our other Afghan performers, we would never have come this far," Nasr says. "So it's fitting that he would be there with us at the Oscars."

To pay for Mohammadi's journey, the Afghan Film Project has launched a fundraising campaign with Rally.org. Those interested in making donations can do so at https://rally.org/buzkashiboys.

Nasr envisions a busy schedule for Mohammadi once he gets over the thrill of taking his first ride in an airplane.

"It'll be a whole new level of experience for Fawad," the producer says.

Besides the big night out for the awards ceremony, Nasr notes, "Fawad is a fan of 'Rambo III,' so he'll enjoy seeing Sylvester Stallone's star on the Walk of Fame. It'll be fun to see Hollywood through his eyes." {sbox}